Medical Study Of Falling In Love
by Gardenia Queen
Summary: A child is brought to the hospital, where Regina Mills is a surgeon. When she met the mother of the child, she can't help but ressent her - how good of a mother can she be? Her ex-wife is fast to rid her from the perspective she had on the blonde girl, and Dr. Mills is learning that first impressions aren't always the right ones. The journey of falling in love might be worth it.


**So, I met this awesome lady, Ariel_Hedgehog who ships SQ too, and we had an idea. We received a prompt (we asked for it on the FB group for SQ fanfics) from Kingstonsong.**

 **We used it to write a fic separately, with a set of rules (time to write it, pairing, etc.) to see where one prompt can take two writers. We finally finished it, and it was a great experience! It wasn't a competition, but rather a friendly challenge, and as such, I dare you to go read her fic too, it's really good.**

 **I wanted to take the time to thank both of them, who had been (still are) amazing friends, correctors and support.**

 **I do not know anything about that medical thing, but, well, I tried my best. I did research, but it probably isn't perfect and I'm sorry for it. (Oh, and I used Grey's Anatomy as a reference too. Lol)**

 **There is one character from that show, but it doesn't change a lot if you haven't seen it. She is a redhead surgeon that (in the spinoff) adopt a little boy named… Yes, you guessed correctly, Henry! I couldn't pass it, so she is in the fic. (And, Kate Walsh. Yum.)**

 **The characters do not belong to me, I am sorry for any mistakes you can find in here, and I do hope you enjoy.**

 **GQ –xx-**

 **P.S.: The prompt is at the end so you are not spoiled anything from the story.**

* * *

The anaesthesiologist entered the OR, where a small girl was at the center of the operating table, covered by a surgical blue bed cover. He connected her IV to another bag of solution and took the mask, hovering with it over the little girl's face, taking care of never touching any of the tubes connected to her frame.

"Ok, sweetie," he started. "You need to breathe deeply in the mask, and you'll fall asleep. You won't feel anything, and you'll feel better when you wake up. Can you do that for me, Heather?" He asked.

The little blonde girl lying on the table, nodded shyly and took a deep breath in the mask he had just put over her nose and mouth.

"Now, can you count backward from ten for me?"

With another nod, the girl started, as the anaesthesiologist pushed propofol and fentanyl in the IV. "Ten, nine, eight, sev..en, si..ix, fi…" Her voice got lost from the slumber she was induced in.

Regina Mills was the attending appointed for the appendectomy on a little five-years-old girl, that had been rushed into the hospital by a worried short brunette that went by the name of Belle.

o0o

"Ten-Blade." Regina asked when she confirmed the patient was under. Once in hand, she lowered it on the young girl's abdomen and made a small incision, to get to the appendix. After a few cutting, she exclaimed. "I see it. Clamps!"

As soon as she asked, the tool was given to her. She put it under the appendix before stitching, and cutting just above the sewing she had just done, to remove the tiny organ.

"Has someone contacted the girl's tutors?" Regina demanded, still cutting.

The scrub nurse nodded. "The mother had been notified. She told us she will be there as soon as she can."

"Alright," the doctor started, putting the little girl's appendix in a bowl. "We only have to close her up now." Turning to the interns in the room, she asked. "Dr. Page, do you want to do us the honours?"

Lilith's eyebrows rose as she took a step towards the stretcher. "Of course, thank you Dr. Mills!" It wasn't every day that Dr. Mills was letting interns help her, and the brunette knew she had to do the most with the chance she had been given and the good mood her teacher seemed in.

The doctors took place side by side and started to sew the abdominal muscles, as Regina kept watching and correcting the method.

o0o

The surgery had went really well, and Regina knew the girl was about to emerge from the lethargic state she had been put under. When the tiny eyelids fluttered open, a haggard looking blonde rushed into the room where Dr. Mills was still taking the little girl's vitals. The only thing Regina had the time to see was the long wavy hair and the red, tiny dress that barely covered the woman, as she rushed to the girl on the bed.

Regina cleared her throat, to get the woman's attention. When she felt eyes on her, she looked up from the chart she had in her hands, and she fell into beautiful, deep hazel eyes.

"I am sorry, Miss," the brunette started, "But this hospital does not allow… Nannies or… whatever you are in the patients' rooms," she finished sourly, pursuing her lips as if disgusted.

The green eyes turned stormy, but before she could utter a word, a low and whiny "Mommy!" came from the little girl on the bed, and Regina looked at the blonde, stunned. She was taken aback that this young looking woman was the mother of the little girl; she looked inappropriate to say the least, with a pretty body for sure, but still inappropriate.

The doctor wondered about what kind of life she could give her girl, as she even seemed unable to be decent by herself. It made her pull a face.

The older blonde rushed on her girl's bedside at the plea.. "Oh! Baby girl! I was so worried!" the woman whispered, her tears starting to fall as she kissed the top of Heather's head. Without even looking up, she asked. "What happened, Dr. …?"

The brunette knew her time to talk had arrived. "Hello… Mrs. Swan, I presume?" she started, looking at the name of the little girl on the chart.

Before she could continue, the blonde cut her. "Actually, it's Miss Swan. Emma Swan."

Regina nodded. "Very well, Miss Swan. I am Doctor Regina Mills, the head of pediatrics in the hospital. Your…" she struggled with the word, "Heather, was brought to us by a woman called… Belle?"

Emma nodded, making her curls bounce around. "Yes, my friend and part-time babysitter for my princess."

"Well, she was brought to us, complaining of abdominal pain, vomiting and a swelling abdomen. We did our tests, and our first hunch was right, as Heather was having an appendicitis."

The mother gasped at that, and finally turned her head to the doctor, whom, Emma noticed, was pretty. "Appendicitis? You had to take her into surgery?"

Regina nodded, as Emma turned back to her girl who was starting to mumble as she fell asleep. A tender smile spread over her delicate features. "And everything's alright now?"

"Yes. Everything went smoothly. We removed her appendix without any complications, and she should be able to go back to her usual routine in two to three weeks' time."

A sigh she hadn't known she was holding escaped Emma, and with a genuine smile, she replied. "Thank you, Doctor, for everything. I don't know what I would have done."

Regina nodded before closing the chart and leaving the room as the young mother stayed there.

o0o

Emma sat in the corner chair all night long, seemingly awake; Regina was checking a bit too much on this particular patient. It wasn't because of the mother, of course it wasn't, even if she was stunning. She had to be sure there were no complications following the anaesthesia and surgery on Heather.

When Regina was about to enter the room again, at half past three in the morning, she heard mumbles, and saw behind the glass of the door the blonde encased in a hug in Addison's arms.

Regina flew the scene, and gave the chart to a nurse for the remaining of the night.

So Addison seemed to have found someone.

o0o

When Regina saw Addison a few hours later, still cursing the blonde – skimpy outfits like a cheap whore, too much make up for nothing, a less than respectful attitude, a dishevelled appearance – she couldn't help but make insinuation, to see if her ex-wife would rise to the bait.

"So you seem to have lowered your standards quite a bit. No one up to my level?" She baited, in the lockers room, as they both were changing.

The redhead turned to Regina. "What are you talking about?" Addison asked, puzzled.

"The pretty blonde, with the little girl in room 4175? I saw you hugging her. She seems quite younger than you. It isn't like you, Addie."

"I am not going out with her!" she started to explain, "But even if I was, it wouldn't be lowering my standards. Emma is a wonderful person, and an amazing mother to Heather," Addison finished, slamming her locker door and storming out of the room.

o0o

On the next few days, Regina came back on the subject many times when she met Addison in the hallways, or even in the OR.

"How do you know her?" the brunette asked while they were both charting, side by side.

"Her daughter is Henry's friend. You'd know that if you were more invested in his life." Addison answered sharply, closed her file and left.

o0o

Emma was panicking. She hadn't heard her alarm, and she was about to be late to work.

"Heather, baby!" she said, loud enough for her girl to hear her. "You need to wake up or we will be late, sweetheart."

When she moved to the kitchen after brushing her teeth, Emma saw her daughter yawning, holding her stuffed toy in one hand.

"Mommy will make you breakfast, ok, sweetheart?"

Heather nodded and sat at the table, rubbing her eyes. It made Emma smile and her heart burst, full of love.

While her daughter's breakfast was cooking, Emma packed her lunch in the tiny lunchbox with Snow White on top.

The croissant jumped out of the toaster just as she finished the lunch. She spread peanut butter inside and added grapes in the plate.

Emma kissed the top of Heather's head as she placed the breakfast in front of her.

"There, eat."

A small voice answered. "Than'ou Mommy!"

Emma smiled at her daughter and went back to the bathroom, finishing getting ready as fast as she could. When she was done, she saw her daughter had eaten all her breakfast. "Hop, go brush your teeth." The little girl had had the time to wake up, and her energy level had risen considerably.

Emma shook her head when her daughter took off like a bullet. She went to Heather's bedroom, chose clothes for the day, and helped her dress up. As soon as the little girl was ready, they left for kindergarten.

"I'm sorry, I can't talk today, I'm almost late!" Emma said to Addison when they bumped into her at the daycare.

The redhead shook her head. "It's alright, Emma. Have a good day!"

The blonde smiled to Addison. "Thanks, you too!"

o0o

A few days after, during surgery, Regina came back on the subject, as she was stitching a patient up. Without looking up, she talked to Addison, who understood immediately.

"She looked not that put together, with her skimpy dress, don't you think?"

The redhead raised an eyebrow. "She was dressed like that because of her second job, which she has to give Heather anything she wants." Her answer was short, and they went back to their task, as the subject seemed closed.

o0o

Work was slow, and Emma knew she was about to have some shifts cut. Of course. She wasn't angry, but, sitting at the table with all the bills she had to pay in front of her, she felt the despair rise again. She would have to make choices, again, to be able to make it.

Hands on her face, she wept. It wasn't a good month, but she was doing what she could. At least Belle and Ruby had been a good support system, but she wanted to be able to do it on her own. She was good at taking care of her girl, wasn't she?

She looked at the bills again, and opened a new page of her budget book. With a sigh, she counted, again and again, without a different result. She would have to make the call for her other job, again. Heather needed an appointment with the dentist and she couldn't push it away again.

She felt her eyes wetting again, and looked at the time. With surprise, she saw it was time to pick up her daughter. She rose from her chair, dried her cheeks, and used cold water on her face to help the red eyes disappear.

Once presentable again, she moved to her car and picked up Heather from the kindergarten. Her day brightened. It was the thing her daughter was always able to do, despite anything that could go wrong.

"Mommy! Mommy!" Heather exclaimed happily, when she saw Emma at the entrance.

"The tooth fairy will hafta come!" She added, opening her palm. A small tooth was in the middle and Emma smiled to her daughter.

"You lost a tooth?" She asked beaming. "Where?"

Heather smiled to her mother, to show her all of her tooth. She saw a small hole in her daughter's smile and she giggled. "Well, you'll have to put it under your pillow, won't you?"

"Yeah! And I will wake up with a present, uh, Mommy?"

Emma nodded and took her daughter's hand. "We should write a letter to put with the tooth, so the fairy will know what you want."

The little girl bounced around, still firmly holding her mother's hand on one side, and clenching her little fist tightly around the teeth in the other. "Yes! I want a doll just like Henry's mommies bought him!" she exclaimed.

Emma swallowed, knowing the doll her daughter was referring to wasn't cheap by any means. Still, she took her girl in her arms and pulled her on her hip. "Well, the doll you want might be too big of a gift for the tooth fairy. You should ask Santa for it, ok, baby? I'm sure there is another doll you'd want. We should ask for Belle's help, right?"

"Yay! Belle!" The girl exclaimed, trying to jump out of her mother's arms to go and run to the yellow car parked not far. "We go now Mommy! I know the other doll I want! We need to write to the fairy _and_ Santa!"

Emma knew she would leave Heather to Belle while she went to the store for her little girl. She would just have to work more to be able to pay the rest of the bills. Her daughter, though, was coming first, always.

o0o

As they were looking over a patient just out of surgery, Regina came back to question about Emma. "Is she really able to take care of her child?"

Addison rolled her eyes. It felt like Regina was being cruel for the sake of it. "Of course! It's not because she wasn't born with a silver spoon in her mouth like us that she isn't a good mother, or that she can't give her daughter what she needs! Not everyone had the same chance we had in life." she explained, her tone hard, before she thrust the chart to Regina and left the room.

o0o

"Baby, do you want to go to the park today?"

Heather's eyes lit up. "Yeah! Please, Mommy! I wanna do the slide!"

"Alright," Emma started, smiling warmly. "But you need to dress up better. Hop, hop!"

With a squeal of laugher, as Emma ran after her daughter around the house, Heather went to her room and excitedly chose a piece of clothing more appropriate for the park.

"That, Mommy?" she showed her mother a pair of long pants.

"Perfect, sweetheart. Do you need help to put them on?"

Heather shook her head really hard and closed her door before she changed by herself, making Emma smile at her baby's antics.

The muffled sounds of Heather's voice came through the door. "I'm ready, Mommy!"

Emma opened the door softly and walked in the room without a sound, where she started tickling her daughter.

A shrill sound of surprise, soon replaced by laughter was heard all around the house. Little arms and legs were flaring around, trying to dislodge the ticking hands from her small body.

Between bursts of laughter, Heather finally said "No – Stop, Mommy! It tickles!"

Emma went on for a few seconds, relinquishing the warmth of the joyful sound, before she stopped and fell on the bed next to her girl, laughing too.

When their breath came back, Heather gave a hug to her mom before leaving the bed. "I love you mommy. Now, go! I wanta play!"

Emma rose from her position on her daughter's bed, and took her hand, a happy smile spread on both their faces. "Well, aren't you bossy today?"

Heather laughed. "And you silly, mommy!"

o0o

"How can she be a mother? She looked so young!" Regina wondered aloud in the cafeteria, sitting next to Addison.

She was infuriated. How could Regina keep insinuating thing like that? Angry at her ex-wife, she rose up and seethed, her voice dripping with poison. "Regina! Enough! If you want to know more about her, or why she had a child at the time she did, or why she dresses like that, or anything about her, really, you should ask her. I think you'd like her. She doesn't cower, she is loyal, but had been hurt a lot. You would learn a lot from her. For now, stop judging her." She finished, and left, her food forgotten on the table.

o0o

Heather was tucked in bed and Emma just finished reading her a story. "Mommy?"

Emma's attention shifted back to her daughter. "Yes, baby?" she cooed in a soft tone.

"Why don't I have a daddy?"

With a crooked smile, Emma answered. "Well, because I loved you too much. I wanted you just to myself."

"Mommy-y!" the little girl whined. She knew it wasn't all the truth. _As perceptive as me_ , Emma thought.

With a sigh, she gave half an answer to her child. "Baby, it's a story for grownups. For people who need more than two hands to show their age." She hated lying to her girl, but she had no choice in that matter. It wasn't something she was about to share with her daughter. At least, not yet.

With a little noise of disappointment, the girl burrowed herself in the sheets and closed her eyes.

"I love you, sweetheart." Emma whispered, putting a kiss on the little blonde girl's forehead.

"Lov'u too m'mmy." Heather mumbled, already half asleep.

o0o

Regina was curious about the young blonde. There was something there and she needed to find out, and the way her ex-wife was talking about her was unnerving her. Addison, Regina and Henry were sitting at the brunette's table for their weekly family dinner when that thought came unbidden. She had to get the blonde's attention, and the best way to do it was sitting just across of her.

"Henry, Honey. Are you supposed to see Heather soon?" She asked.

With his mouth covered in spaghetti sauce, the little boy nodded enthusiastically. "In two nights from now."

Regina looked at Addison, whom was eying her sceptically.

"Maybe mommy could go with you rather than mama?" Regina wondered aloud.

The boy's eyes lit up. "Please Mommy! Please Mama! Everyone has to meet Heather!"

With a sigh, Addison nodded, and Henry, clapping, turned to his Mommy. With a smile, Regina nodded lightly too. The little boy threw himself to her, and the laugh that filled the apartment was really joyful, making Addison smile, remembering another time, when they were all happy together.

o0o

Regina took the stairs, holding her son's hand. Once they arrived in front of the right door, the brunette raised her hand and knocked lightly.

For a few seconds, nothing seemed to move or make a noise in the apartment. After these few stilled moments, rapid footstep could be heard, and a muffled voice – feminine, likely Emma's – saying something.

"…Alone." Was the word Regina heard when the door swung open. "Heather!"

"But, mommy! It's Henry!" the little girl whined.

The blonde approached the open door. Regina was stunned. Emma was looking the exact opposite of what she had seen in the hospital a few weeks ago. Her hair was done in a messy bun on her head, and she was wearing a white tank top and tight, tight jeans.

"I'm sorry," Emma started. "I tried to tell her not to open the door by herself." she admitted, a bit shyly, before turning her eyes to her little girl, widening them. "You never know who's behind."

Heather's shoulders slumped. "I'm sorry, mommy!"

Emma shook her head. "We're going to talk about this another time, sweetheart."

It made Heather brighten. "So I can go play with Henry?" she asked, a sweet smile spreading on her face.

Emma nodded. Even before she was able to finish her movement, two little body took off like rockets, laughing.

Emma looked at them a few seconds, a soft, loving smile spread on her lips, before she turned again to Regina, still at the door, and took her in. The brunette was wearing black slacks and a white blouse, tucked in them, and her make-up and hair were perfect. Emma bit her lip, thinking about how good her hair would look mussed, in a post-sex glow.

The blonde felt herself blush, and tried to regain control of her mind before her thoughts could be found. "So, you are Henry's other mother."

Regina nodded, with a contrite smile. "I am, and I clearly misjudged you the other day at the hospital. I want to make it up to you. Would you want to go out for dinner with me?"

Emma's eyebrows rose. "Hum… I mean, yeah. Yes, why not?"

Regina's smile was a relieved one. "Good. Would Saturday be alright with you?"

The blonde seemed to think for a few seconds. "At what time?"

"Would 7 be too late?"

Emma bit her lip, and Regina couldn't help but follow the movement with her eyes, a hungry look painted on her face. "I should ask Belle, really. She'll be the one watching over Heather."

Regina shook off of her daydreaming about the pinky lips she wanted to nibble on. "Or Addie can watch Henry and Heather, like you do today. It'll give them someone to play with."

"Really?" Emma asked. "It would be nice!"

Regina nodded. "So, I'm going to pick you up at 7. It's a date, Miss Swan."

Emma spluttered. "It's – Hum… Wait! I mean, what?"

"Oh, yes, Miss Swan." Regina replied, grinning. "I'll see you on Saturday for our _date_." she finished, and closed the door behind her, with an Emma, still stunned, standing behind the closing door.

o0o

Regina was at the front of the building half an hour in advance. Even if she showed confidence, she was nervous. The blonde made her feel differently, and she wanted everything to be perfect.

As the minutes ticked, the brunette kept contemplating Emma. When she saw the time, only 10 minutes left, she shook her head and turned the car ignition off before walking in the building to pick up the blonde.

When the door of the apartment opened, Regina's jaw dropped and Emma smiled. She was wearing a black leather dress, her hair falling into soft curls around her shoulders.

"What?" she asked. "You did say it was a date, didn't you?"

The doctor cleared her throat. "Hum, y-yes. Shall we?"

Emma made a sign with her hand to show that she was following her, and Regina started to go down the stairs.

o0o

Once at the restaurant, after a comfortable, small-talk filled ride, they seated.

"So, the 'Lone Wolf', huh?" Emma smirked.

Regina raised a brow. "Well, it is a good restaurant."

Emma only hummed in answer as the waiter came at their table to take their order. Regina went first, asking for the fettuccine, white sauce, with a lot of sautéed vegetables. With a shit-eating grin, the blonde turned toward the boy. "Please, ask the chief if she can make me her famous Granny's plate."

He smiled to her, nodded and left with the commands.

"What was that?" Regina asked, curious.

"Oh, well, you'll see." As she finished her answer, a resounding 'Emma!' was heard in the restaurant, and she flopped to her feet. A body came barging with hers, and they hugged.

Regina was left in her seat wondering what had just happened.

Disentangling herself, Emma turned back to Regina. "Regina, this is my best friend, Ruby Lucas, the chef and owner of the restaurant." She started the presentation. "And Rubes, this is Doctor Regina Mills."

Regina extended her hand, and Ruby took it. "Glad to meet you," they both said, eliciting a giggle from Emma. Ruby slapped her friend's arm and narrowed her eyes. "I need to go, but you better call me and Belle tomorrow. Tonight's meal's on the house!" She told them, and left for the kitchen.

The blonde sat back and smiled at the doctor. "I'm sorry for that."

With a wave of her hand, Regina swept away Emma's concerns. "No problems. I never thought the owner was your friend. Should we have gone somewhere else?"

"Hell, no!" Emma said, giggling. "I know I will like my meal, so, it's perfect for me."

"Good, then." Regina smiled, relieved. "How did you meet Addison?"

It made the blonde smile. "Well, Heather was going for the first time at the kindergarten, because Eugenia, hum, Ruby's grandmother, wasn't able to watch over her, and I was a nerve-wreck to leave her there. Then, there was this redhead who walked up to me and asked me if everything was alright. I don't know why, but I was so compelled to tell her. So, I left Heather for the day and went with her at the little café a few streets down. And we talked. I like to think we are friends, and when we see each other, well, we usually take a few minutes to talk. What about you?" Emma finally asked after she finished her little tale.

"Well, you must know we were married, right?" The blonde nodded, while taking a sip of the glass of wine she just had been poured. "Alright. Well, we met in Med School. I was starting my first year and she was in her last, but we hit off from the start with snide and sass. We were similar, maybe, in retrospective, too similar. Well, we started going out on dates. The thing was that we understood each other really well. We had a similar path. So, we stayed together, and adopted Henry together six years ago. He was so tiny when we got him. But, we saw that it wasn't working anymore a few years later, and we divorced. What had brought us together before made us resentful towards each other, and we never wanted Henry to be in the middle of that."

"Oh. So, hum, how old was Henry when it happened?"

"Three, so, we broke up three years ago."

"And how did he take it?"

"Well, it was all in the way we explained it to him. We had to say that we both loved him and it wouldn't change, but that he would now have two homes, because his mothers were having one each. He seemed to understand, as much as he could as a three years-old."

Emma nodded. "Yeah, it was well explained, I think."

The conversation went on, on lighter subjects, as they ate. Regina was entranced by the beautiful blue-green eyes and Emma was taken by the sensuality and the rich voice of the brunette. When they finished eating, neither could deny that they had a connection to the other. They knew it meant something, they knew it was probably worth pursuing.

Regina drove Emma back to her apartment, the tentative conversation was back. Once in front of the building, the doctor parked her car and turned to Emma.

"Thank you for the dinner. I had a good time."

Emma smiled. "Yeah, I did too, so, thanks to you."

Regina nodded, and silence fell on the car for a few seconds. The blonde fidgeted with her fingers, and when she rose her head back up to look at Regina and leave, she was surprised to find lips on her own.

"Oh!" she exhaled when the lips met. After a few stunned seconds, she kissed back, letting herself feel the softness of the plump lips under hers. Their lips slid over each other and Emma felt a hand tangle in her hair, at the base of her spine. She shuddered at the contact, and deepened the kiss, making it more urgent.

Regina licked Emma's lower lip to gain access, which was granted happily. Their tongue moved against the other, the blonde's hand drifting towards the brunette's face to cradle it. The kiss was broken when they both needed air, and their foreheads touched. Emma's eyes were closed, and she was smiling shyly.

The doctor cleared her throat. "May I see you again?" she asked, in a soft tone.

"Yeah," was the breathy comeback.

"Good." Regina smiled. "I'll call you." she added, as Emma gave her one last peck on the lips and left the car, looking back before entering the building.

o0o

The next day, Emma received a call. Regina was asking her out again. With a big smile, she answered that she would be ready, and went on with her routine, a smile plastered on her face. Heather, seeing this, pulled a face.

"Mommy! Why do you smile?" she questioned, her little fists on her hips, with a serious look on her face.

Emma's smile became bigger. "Well, sweetheart, Mommy has a new best friend," she winked, as her daughter's smile grew too.

o0o

On the other side of town, Regina cradled the phone to her chest and sighed in relief, a smile blooming on her face too. She knew there was something, and she never was one to believe in love at first sight, but, well, Emma was something else. She knew she would have to tell Emma soon that it wasn't a fling or an experimentation for her… As her feelings seemed to keep growing every time her mind wandered to the beautiful, young blonde with green, piercing eyes.

o0o

On their second date, they decided to go take a walk. The silences were light and comfortable, and the talks were amazing. Emma was fascinated by Regina's job, and how it was working, how she was saving lives.

Regina, in return, loved when Emma talked about Heather and their days, or the silly, crazy things and sacrifices she was doing for her daughter. The little pumpkin already had a place in her heart, even just by the way Emma talked about her, with so much love and passion.

Henry came back on the topic, of course, and Regina was glad to see that Emma seemed to like him and know him already. He was her whole world, just like Heather was Emma's.

Suddenly, their conversations came to a halt, and the silence lingered. Emma seemed lost in her thoughts. The blonde's voice, unsure, broke it a few minutes later, explaining what went through her head. "What can I offer you? I can't be enough for you. I mean, I don't have any social position, or money, for the matter. I live in a small apartment that I share with my daughter, and I'm kind of screwed up, broken and socially awkward."

Regina shook her head. "Emma dear. You are a wonderful person, a loving mother, and I don't need money or a social position. You don't have to have a big house, or a beautiful car to impress me. You make me happy, and that's enough for me. I like what I see when I look at you; a loving, hard-working mother of a lovely little girl, a caring, joyful person despite whatever life throws at you. I like your spirit, and your heart."

Emma had to blink back tears, and she threw herself in Regina's arms. "Thank you. This was the most beautiful thing someone ever told me."

Their walk went on after that, and before leaving, the long kisses they besotted upon each other were full of gratefulness and promises.

o0o

The next time they saw each other, without talking through the phone like they did all the time, Emma invited Regina over for supper.

"I'm sorry," the blonde started at the minute the brunette crossed the threshold, "but Belle's sick, so I have to watch over Heather."

Regina waived the concern off. "No problem, dear. The little pumpkin is wonderful. I don't mind at all. And I get to see you, and do… this," Regina purred, taking Emma's face between her hands and kissing her with all her worth.

The blonde gasped, but soon fell into the kiss. When they came up for air, Regina winked at Emma. "Hello, there!" Making the blonde blush.

"Hi!" she shyly answered to the flirty doctor. "I am glad to see you, but I have to go back to the kitchen. I left the oven open."

Regina made a sign with her hand to show that she was following.

o0o

The doctor sat on a chair and watched Emma cooking. "Emma, dear?"

"Hmm?" she received as an answer.

"How old are you?" Emma's head snapped up at the doctor's question.

"23, why?"

Regina's brows furrowed. "You had Heather at 18?"

Emma's answer was short. "Yup." she confirmed, before going back to her preparation.

"You know that I am 38, right?"

The blonde only shrugged. "I didn't know. But I still don't mind." Her eyes rose from the cooking she was doing, and walked slowly towards Regina. "Age is just a number. As long as you don't let it be a factor, it doesn't matter."

"But what if we're not at the same place in our lives? What about maturity? Not that you don't have it, just that I have 15 years of experiences over you. And you're still a young adult. You have years in front of you to do anything you want, and experiment, and -"

"Woah!" Emma stopped her, putting a hand on her mouth. "Listen carefully to me. I have a lot under my belt, and I don't need experimentation, or anything like that. I have a child, first, and I already had my… rebel phrase when I was younger." She shook her head, erasing the look of sorrow she had printed over her features before going on. "As for the maturity thing, everyone matures in its own way, by the hardships they go through. Some people are more cerebral, others are more reckless, but it doesn't mean they aren't mature. And, this is not to brag, but I believe I am different from the others. And more mature than people my age because of my life path." She finally took off her hand from Regina's lips, and gave her a kiss.

The brunette's eyes fluttered close, and any comeback she had in mind disappeared. When the blonde severed the kiss and moved back to the kitchen, Regina let out a small whine of loss. Emma chuckled before asking her. "Do you want to stay tonight?"

Regina shrugged. "Why not? I just have to go at the hospital early."

The blonde smiled and nodded, going back to the stove to finish the meal. "It's almost ready. Can you bring Heather to the table, please?"

"Of course!" the brunette answered, leaving to find the little girl in her room. She knocked twice and opened the door. "Hey, pumpkin!" she started, "Your mommy wanted me to come and get you. Dinner's almost ready."

The little girl whined. "No 'Gina! I hafta draw this."

"You can finish it after, baby girl. You need to go wash your hands and come eat."

With a pout and heavy footsteps, the little girl rose up and went to the bathroom to wash her hands, as Regina followed her to do the same and watch if her instructions were respected.

o0o

Emma brought the plates on the table, and they all started to eat with gusto, and making small conversation. Regina smiled at the domesticity of the scene. She felt good, light, like she hadn't felt in a long time. She knew the meal would have been perfect if Henry had been here too. As it was, Heather took a good part of the conversation, telling with many details and flaring arms what she had done during the day to an entranced and clearly loving Emma.

Once her explanations were finished, as her plate was, the little girl ran back to her room to finish her drawing, and the evening finished with a good glass of wine shared between the adults.

When Emma went to tuck Heather in bed, Regina heard a bit of whining, and when she saw the mother coming out of the room with a sheepish expression, she tensed.

"Hum," Emma started. "Heather wants you to give her a goodnight kiss too."

Regina's shoulder lost their rigidity, and she rose from the couch. "Oh! Of course. I'll be right back." She smiled to Emma.

The girl, tucked in her bed, sleepily extended an arm to the doctor. "'Gina, Kiss!" She said in a drowsy tone.

The brunette bent and kissed the little girl's forehead.

"Night night!" came as a whisper from the tiny body.

"Good night, pumpkin."

When Regina turned, she saw Emma leaning against the door frame, a smile of adoration on her lips, her eyes shining in joy. The brunette pushed the blonde away from the room and closed the door behind them. As she heard the click of the door, she turned to Emma and kissed her fiercely. The blonde tried to muffle her moan, but Regina still heard it.

"Wanna make out like teenagers?" Emma purred in Regina's ear. The brunette could only nod in approval.

o0o

The next time either of them looked at the time, with lips bruised from the passionate kissing, it was almost midnight.

Sheepish, Regina talked. "We should really go to sleep. I have to be awake at 5 tomorrow morning."

Emma's mouth opened in surprise, and she moved from the brunette lap as soon as the request registered with her. "Yeah. Do you need PJ's?"

Regina shook her head. "I have an overnight bag in my car, just in case. I stay at Addie's sometimes after our family meals."

Emma nodded. "Alright. I'll wait for you."

o0o

During Regina's trip to her car, Emma got ready for bed and went under the sheets, curled on herself, already half-asleep.

When Regina saw her, she changed, and moved behind the blonde, taking her in her arms. Emma burrowed deeper in Regina's comforting arms and warm embrace.

"G'night, beautiful." came from Emma.

The brunette whispered in answer. "Good night, Darling," before closing her eyes and falling asleep too.

o0o

When morning came, Regina rose up with a jolt and looked at the time. With a sigh, she relaxed, and found out she wasn't in her room. Just as she came to the conclusion, an arm wrapped itself around her torso.

"Back t'sleep, R'gina," a voice mumbled next to her ear. With a chuckle, the brunette swept the blonde's hair out of her face.

"I am sorry, darling," she began, a laugh in her voice. "But I have to go to work." She finished, detangling herself from the arms of her… girlfriend.

With a grumble, Emma let her go. "Fine. Go save lives, I'm staying here until at least 7," she said.

The small talk went on as Regina prepared herself as best as she could, and with a last peck on her lover's lips, Regina left the apartment.

o0o

The doctor's morning was slow. She tried to tell herself it was a good thing, but she believed that slow mornings were a bad thing. At least for surgeons. They were usually an omen about something. The brunette knew she had been right a bit later in the day, when she was paged 'SOS' for the OR. She ran to the room. "You paged?"

"Regina,we'll need your help. The woman, Marian Locksley, 31, is pregnant with twins, and was in a car accident. We have to make an emergency C-Section, the placenta detached but the babies are premature. She is 26 weeks along."

"Of course, I'll be happy to help, Addison."

Regina scrubbed in, looking at what was happening in the OR. She didn't like it one bit. The room was slowly getting more agitated, and monitors seemed to flair to life. When the brunette walked into the room, she heard erratic beeping from the machines, and the chief resident was talking to the nearest nurse. "I need you to page Dr. Gold. She's having a cardiac tamponade!"

Regina intervened. "Gold's doing a valve replacement in OR 3, and Mallory is in a trauma surgery OR 1. They won't be able to come in time."

The resident, Dr. Nolan, cursed, and Regina went on, her tone cutting. "We'll have to do it ourselves. You do know how to do a pericardiocentesis, don't you?"

He shook his head. It was something residents learned to do.

"Well, then. We'll do that before the babies are delivered, and I'll follow with a pericardial window to be sure the fluid is draining well. Dr. Montgomery?"

Addison looked up and without missing a beat, the redhead looked at the monitors and answered. "We have no choice but to take them out, soon, no matter what. The babies are going in distress. Their oxygen level is dropping too fast."

Regina nodded. "Alright. We can do this, but we have to be fast. We want to save the mother too."

Near the head of the woman, Regina and David started with the procedures for the pericardiocentesis. With an image of the pericardium, seemingly full of blood, Regina asked for the kit to be able to remove the liquid in it. The 18-gauge needle was ready to be given to her.

"Now, we need to be very careful with this procedure. If the angle isn't right, the danger is to nick the third atrium. It's really thin, and could cause a cardiac rupture."

Dr. Nolan nodded.

"You need to find the xiphoid process," she started, doing it at the same time. When her fingers entered in contact with the right zone, she went on. "Here. Then, you move two fingers to the left of it," she went on, taking the needle, still doing as she was saying.

"Angle the needle toward the left shoulder, and push carefully if you don't want to hit the ventricle or drop the lung." Once the needle was pushed inside the patient, she went on with the lesson. "If you push too far in or the needle isn't at the right angle, the S.T. can elevate." She finally pulled on the needle, and the bloodied liquid was sucked into the syringe.

With a sigh, she took the needle off. The woman's vitals were supposed to get better, as her ability to breathe was relieved. Regina looked at Addison, to know if the babies were still fine, for her to be able to do a pericardial window.

Regina became worried when the vitals didn't pick up. "Page. I need to open her up, now. Something's wrong."

The resident rose from her chair and started on them, as fast and efficiently as she could, while Regina was opening Marian's chest to get to her heart.

Once she was in, she swore. The area was flooded with blood.

"There must be a tear somewhere. I need suction!" she boomed, to be understood. "The cardiac tamponade was caused by the chest trauma… But what can cause that much bleeding?" she wondered aloud, cutting as much as she could. "I need a chest stretcher!"

When she had it, she installed it. The blood wasn't stopping despite the two tubes that were sucking. "She needs blood or she'll bleed out!"

A pouch was installed to the IV, and Regina kept looking for what was wrong. When she saw it, she swore again. "Her aorta's ruptured! How could we have not seen the tear in it? The pericardiocentesis will have been for naught if we can't stop the bleeder! Clamps!" she asked, in hope to reduce the bleeding.

"We need to put her on cardiopulmonary bypass before trying to repair the ruptured aorta. No intubation! Even if she's asleep, if her body tries to gag, her aorta can rupture completely!" Regina instructed in a rush.

Regina took a step back as the machine was installed on the woman. She was now kept alive by an external force. With a sigh, Regina started to try to repair the tear in the aorta, when the machine she was hooked upon started to beep.

"She's in V-FIB!" Nolan announced.

With desperate hands, Regina kept doing the sutures, but the heart rate kept dropping. When her eyes flickered upwards and she saw the monitor, "Asystole! Starts the code clock. Get the crash cart, I'll finish the sutures and start the compressions. Push 5 of Epinephrine!" she screamed, as she kept doing her sutures in a cacophony of machines sounds. "The babies are going into distress!" Dr. Page announced, as she watched over the monitor for the children. "Damnit!" Regina said, seeing the still flat line. "How long had she been under?" she finally asked.

"1 minutes, 12 seconds."

She nodded. "Fine." Then, she turned back to the heart. "I'm removing the bleed and clamping the tear. Suction!" Regina was unnerved. It should have been working. The clamp was well in place.

"I need to get the babies out! Listen to me Regina!" Addison was frenetic, and Regina seemed too concentrated on her part, but she answered curtly. "You can't now. She's lost too much blood. If you do that, she could bleed out." Her voice was flat and cold, stating facts.

"Then when?" the redhead seethed, unable to do nothing.

"I need to finish repairing her aorta first. I almost have it." she explained without bothering to look up. There was only two knots to do.

"Regina! Enough!" her ex-wife roared. "The babies' lives are in danger! You can't save them both and the mother. But they have a chance to live if I take them out. She's gone, now. She's been under for too long. Even if you can repair her aorta, her brain hadn't gotten oxygen for too long. She's dead. Scalpel!" Addison asked, her palm open. When the scrub nurse gave her the tool, she closed her hand around it, and started the incision on the woman's lower abdomen. The only sound in the room was the rhythmical beeping of the machines, the brunette didn't stop her.

Regina saw in her peripheral vision the first baby out, at the incubator with Dr. Booth, and Addison was still both hands inside of the woman, to take the second baby out as she finished the sutures on the woman. With another effort, Addison took out the second baby, a little girl, clearly under-developed, and rushed her next to the little boy.

"Take her off of the cardiopulmonary bypass, push 5 of Epinephrine!" The brunette asked. "C'mon. You need to keep fighting!" She was now talking to the woman. Regina took a deep breath, looked at what Addison was doing, and saw that the redhead was still trying to save the tiny girl, who seemed like a lost cause. She shook her head, and went back to her need to save this Marian by starting the compressions of CPR on the heart, hoping for it to start on its own. "C'mon, pick up, pick up!"

With a last pumping of her hand, she stopped her movements, and left the heart by itself to see if it would start to beat. The monitor flat-lined, and the heart didn't pick up the movement. After a few moments, when the only sounds in the room were the tale-telling sound of the lack of life, Regina looked up at the clock, knowing they couldn't do anything else anymore.

"Time of death, 11 42." Regina announced, in a pained voice, looking at the redhead, who also shook her head in defeat. It seemed she hadn't been the only one to not be able to save her patient. The little girl's death was announced a few minutes after Marian's.

o0o

Regina took out her scrub cap in a defeated move, and walked with Addison to the waiting area, where she knew the woman's husband would be waiting for news.

They looked at each other with sad eyes, before going to him.

"Hello, Mr. Locksley," Regina started, as he raised his eyes towards them. "I am Dr. Regina Mills and this is Dr. Addison Forbes-Montgomery. We are really sorry, we did everything we could…" His eyes widened. "But your wife suffered from complication due to the trauma she received to the chest because of the accident. Her heart… didn't support it. We are really sorry for your loss."

He shook his head as in denial. "This is a joke, right? You're kidding me, aren't you?"

Regina's shook her head. "No, Sir. We are deeply sorry for your loss."

"And… and the babies?" he anxiously asked.

Addison picked up the conversation. "We had to do an emergency C-section since they were going to miss oxygen. But you have to understand that premature twins, only 26 weeks along have a bigger risk of not making it. At that point in the pregnancy, the viability of a child is 80% when the child is alone in-utero. We were able to save your little boy, and he seems healthy, but your little girl didn't make it, since she was in distress, and wasn't developed enough to survive out of the womb. She hadn't grown enough for us to be able to save her, her lungs were underdeveloped. We are sorry."

His eyes grew lost. "You killed my Marian and my little girl. YOU KILLED THEM!" he screamed, trying to throw himself at Addison, who was nearer. She ducked his attack, and the security agents took care of him, letting the doctors go.

o0o

Weeks went by. Regina and Emma found time to see each other, and when they weren't able to, well, the phone was their friend. Conversation that ended only with the light of the sun rising, or falling asleep with the other on the other end of the phone, talks about silly things, debates, or likes and dislikes… They seemed unable to stay away from the other, as if they were magnets.

The dates were wonderful, be it out or at each other's apartment, and Heather took a shine to Regina. Emma watched her little girl needing her 'Gina more and more. Every time, her heart seemed to burst with the pride and love she felt.

It did scared her too, but the way thing were going was good for them, and Emma tried to push her issues away.

When Regina was coming over, Heater asked for Regina to read the bedtime stories, saying that the brunette was better doing the voices than her Mommy. Regina was feeling like a part of something good, and she loved the fact that this little family cell was giving her a safe place, a place where she could vent about her days and a place where she was able to leave work at the hospital. It felt like she was herself like she hadn't been in a long time and that she was living her own life for once, as Regina Mills and not the best surgeon in her speciality only.

It was Wednesday when the doctor invited Emma to her place that Friday, with a positive answer, making them both smile. The blonde announced she would be there after work, around 8.

o0o

Regina opened the door for Emma to come in when she heard the knock. "I hope you're hungry," was the first thing she said.

Emma smiled to her, "Famished, in fact," she answered, before giving a peck on

Regina's plump lips. "I had a really long day at work."

While leading her to the kitchen, where she readied the table and placed the plates, the brunette inquired. "You never told me what you are doing for a living."

"I am a waitress at the 'Lone Wolf'"

Regina's eyes narrowed and she turned to Emma. "And you let me treat you dinner there for our first date?"

Emma shrugged. "Hey, you didn't know, and I like it there, so it's fine!"

"Really?" Regina wondered, anxiously, as they both seated.

"Yeah," Emma smiled, "And I have another job from time to time. To help, you know, with Heather and the bills?"

Regina nodded sagely, waiting for a deeper explanation.

"Well, I do some photoshoots."

Regina's eyebrows rose. "You're a model?"

The blonde tilted her head. "Yeah, I guess?"

"And what are you modelling for?"

"It depends on the contracts." Emma blushed, before going on. "That's the reason for the short dress when Heather was sick. I was doing a photoshoot, and I didn't even take the time to change before coming for my daughter. It was for lingerie, and so, it was the less revealing dress they had. I put it on before rushing to the hospital."

"Oh," was Regina's comeback. Her guilt of the misjudgement she had put upon the girl was back, but she quelled it down easily. What was less easy to forget was her jealousy at the idea that her Emma would be leered upon by men. She tried to tamper it, with more or less success.

The meal went on with agreeable conversations, talks about their days, and without even noticing it, the clock struck 11 pm. Emma had to go pick up her daughter from Belle and Ruby's. Together, they moved towards the entrance and kissed. With her hands still around Emma's neck, Regina broke the kiss.

"Emma, Darling. I have something to tell you." Regina began. "We spent a lot of time together, or talking, and, hum… I wanted to say that… I am falling in love with you."

Emma gaped in surprise. "Um…" She didn't know what to say. She had to… She couldn't take it. Thoughts started to run around her head, and the blonde moved towards the door. Her face showed confusion, as if she was prisoner of an inner turmoil. "I- I…" she started, before she found the doorknob and left the penthouse in a hurry. She knew she was running, again, but it was her. No love for her could be real.

o0o

Inside her loft, Regina slid on the wall and fell on the floor. When she registered that Emma had just left, tears started to leak from her eyes, and she second-guessed herself. ' _What have I done? Was it too soon, or she can't love me? What have I done?_ ' she kept saying in her head.

This is how Addison found her, on the floor, still crying, when she came to give her Henry. She had used her key when there was no answer as she knew her ex-wife was there, though maybe sleeping.

When she saw Regina's state, no explanations were needed. They knew each other so well that Addison immediately guessed what had happened. After taking an asleep Henry to his room, and tucking him into bed, she held her ex-wife in her arms and tried to soothe her. No words were needed, only the comfort of the arms she was encased in.

o0o

Emma was running from her feelings, and Regina's. She knew it, but it was like a reflex. The weekend passed, gloomily, and nothing seemed to cheer Heather's mother up. She went to bed in tears every night, knowing she had lost the person that could have really loved her. She was trying, without results, to convince herself that it had been the right thing to do, and she was, by doing so, keeping a certain stability for Heather.

Her reasoning came each time to a screeching halt when snippets of her time with Regina were coming back to her, and tears flew.

When Monday came, Emma took Heather to the kindergarten, with bags proving how much she hadn't been able to sleep that night. When she walked back towards her car, she saw a red mass of hair in her ring road vision.

Addie caught up with her as Emma tried to walk faster. She had seen in Addison's eyes that she knew what had happened between her and Regina. She hadn't asked for a lecture, and the pain of seeing her, as it was a reminder of Regina, was really hurting.

With a fierce hold, the redhead stopped Emma in her tracks. She looked at the tired blonde in the eyes and saw the same heartbreak she had seen in Regina's. With a sigh, she started a speech. "I don't like to meddle, but you've hurt her a lot, and I see that you are also hurt. I want you both happy. So. She's a woman who loves fiercely, deeply, with all her soul. When you have her love, nothing else matter. But she's also a woman who shatters easily, and I won't be left behind to pick up the pieces of the mess you made. Give her a chance to show you how good it is to be loved and love in return."

Emma can only gape at the doctor and try to assimilate what she had just been told. With a sad smile, Addison left, the blonde still in the middle of the parking lot, gaping like a fish out of the water. She knew Addison was right. And it hurt too much to stay away, or to expect not to see the beautiful brunette again.

She knew she had to do something, and get over her fears. The only way to get Regina back was to explain everything to her. Emma climbed in her car and drove off towards Mifflin St.

o0o

She had to do it before she lost her nerve. With a deep breath, the blonde knocked at the white door, and played with her fingers, waiting. Her head snapped up when she heard a sound.

"I… I think I'm falling in love with you too." Emma began, as the door of the apartment opened. "I am no good at that stuff. I've always been a runner. Never felt enough. But, well, you deserve to know why."

Regina's face stayed stoic, a professional mask that was making Emma uneasy, but the blonde knew she had deserved the cold shoulder she was receiving, and she had to push through and explain. It was her chance. Her only chance.

Regina moved after a few seconds of consideration, letting Emma enter her home. Following Regina to the study, she sat on the couch next to the fireplace.

The doctor's words were harsh, making Emma wince. "You came to explain? Go on."

The blonde cleared her throat. "I… I know I never told you about me, because I was too scared. The thing is, I grew up in the foster system. My - My parents didn't even have the decency to leave me at the hospital. I was found on the side of the highway." Her lips pursued as Regina's eyes widened. "I've been adopted, but when I was three, the family had their own child and sent me back. And so, started the hell of the foster families. I was always sent back, and rejected as a commodity when they thought I didn't fit in the family. I started to lash out and protect myself, but who wants a kid with anger problems and troubles of comportment? No one loving. When I understood that the anger couldn't help me, but gave them a reason to… hurt me, I stopped caring, and started to run. I always believed that love couldn't find me. It scares me. That's why I literally ran when you told me you were… I don't know how it works, but what I feel while I'm with you? I think it might really well be love."

Regina gulped and closed her eyes. She was still angry at Emma, but her heart ached for the little, unloved girl that the blonde had been. "Emma. You've hurt me a lot. Because I am scared too of the feelings I have for you. My own youth hadn't been easy. Yes, I had a mother, but it doesn't always mean that parents know how to love. I had them, and money, but my mother was an… expectant woman. She kept me on a tight leash, asking for nothing less than perfection and hurt me when I wasn't able to achieve it."

"I am sorry. I really am, Regina. I – I know it's probably too late, but, hum… I would have liked to see what could happen between us."

"I can't give up just yet, Emma. Not when you told me these things. But I think we need to talk. Don't be afraid to open up to me, I won't use it to hurt you, ever."

"So… What does that means?"

"I want something with you. And I don't want you to run when I tell you that I am in love with you."

Emma teared up and passionately kissed Regina, who could taste the salt of the tears, before the blonde mumbled against her lips. "I love you too."

Regina laughed, a wet laugh, as she cried happy tears. Their kiss grew more passionate, and Emma's hands wandered beneath the satin shirt Regina was wearing as their tongues found each other's

A whimper escaped the brunette at their first contact, spurring the Emma on. She let her hands wander higher, until she reached the clasp of the bra. She stopped her hands and broke the kiss.

"Is it ok?" Emma wondered. "Do you want this?"

Regina's voice became raspy, needy. "Yes. Yes. Bedroom." she commanded, tugging on Emma's arm to make her follow.

Emma smirked and willingly went until they reached the master bedroom. Behind the blonde, Regina closed the door and walked with a sway to her hips towards the bed where the blonde was seated. She saw Emma's eyes darkening as she took in her body.

Regina felt desired, loved, and she was glad for it.

Slowly, as she inched towards Emma, Regina started to strip until she was down to her underwear as she reached her. She pushed Emma on the bed with all the confidence she could muster up, and straddled her thighs. Slowly, as to make a show, Regina unhooked her bra with one hand, the other arm over her breasts to keep it from falling too fast.

Emma lifted her hands to touch to the soft skin in front of her, only to have them swatted away. With a pout, she put them back on the bed, over her head.

Satisfied by Emma's compliance, Regina slowly dragged down the bra's straps along her arms under the blonde hungry gaze, before letting it fall away. Emma's fingers twitched, making a corner of her mouth tug upwards.

With a voice laced with desire, she finally gave her lover the permission to touch her. "You can go ahead."

Without missing a beat, Emma tugged Regina towards her, who braced herself on her hands to land without crushing the blonde underneath her, and Emma crashed their lips together, making Regina moan. The kiss was forceful, hungry, charged with desire. Rapidly, the blonde pushed her tongue inside the other woman's mouth, who accepted it without a protest, but rather fighting to dominate the kiss.

Regina started to control it when she started grinding against the other woman's stomach, making her moan. She knew Emma could feel the heat even through her clothes.

When Regina remembered that the blonde was – indeed - still wearing her clothes, – too much layers away from her skin – she broke the kiss and rose from her position, earning a whine from her partner.

"You are wearing way too much clothes," she explained to a quite clearly turned on girl. "Take them off," she ordered.

Emma scrambled to her feet and almost tripped while trying to take off her pants too eagerly. The brunette chuckled. "Good girl," she cooed, before pushing her back, naked, on the bed, and taking off her own panties while making a small movement with her hand to make her scoot towards the headboard. The compliance of her lover was almost startling in its eagerness.

Regina moved towards Emma on her hands and knees, as if the blonde was her prey. Emma felt it too, her eyes widening, and she bit her lip. When the brunette was at the same height as her, she reconnected their lips, before she slid her hand on the blonde's torso, who shivered at the act, until fingers flicked a nipple.

The whimper that Emma let out made wetness pool even more between Regina's legs. She wanted more of that sound, and so, she started to roll the hardened nub between her fingers. Emma's hips bucked, and, wanting to anchor herself to Regina, she gripped her shoulders, digging her nails in and bent a knee to keep her in place.

The movement made Regina's center fall on her thigh. The brunette moaned at the contact, her hips starting to grind by themselves, spreading her wetness over Emma's leg, marking her as _hers_.

The blonde's head was thrown back from all the sensations she was experimenting. She hummed when she felt lips on her neck, slowly travelling towards her ear. The breathing pattern of the other woman was laboured, and she felt every pant against her skin.

Regina's hips bucked faster, harder. She wasn't one to plead usually, but she barely could swallow her pleases back. Emma felt the wetness spreading on her skin by the humping, making her wetter. She had a feeling she was about to have a proof of her arousal on the bed.

Regina, lost in her pleasure, loved the friction of Emma's body against hers, the feeling of their breasts rubbing lightly against each other, the pleasure of which made her moan. A fine layer of sweat was covering their bodies.

Emma, wanting to please her lover, used her fingers, sneaking them between their bodies. As she pushed slowly two of them inside the brunette, Regina's movements become erratic like her breathing.

With a whine, the brunette lowered herself faster on the blonde's fingers, grinding harder on the thigh still between her own legs. After a few thrusts, Emma felt the tightening of Regina's walls around the two fingers she had inside the woman.

With a shout of Emma's name, Regina came, slumping on her.

They stayed in that position for a few moments, the doctor trying to find her breathing back. When it came back to an almost regular level, Regina flipped them over, and peppered kisses all over Emma's body, slowly lowering her head towards the apex of her thighs.

When the blonde caught on what Regina was about to do, she whimpered, and Regina dragged her teeth and her tongue towards Emma's center. At the first contact of her tongue with the warm, wet center, both women moaned from the pleasure.

Emma's hands fisted the sheets as tight as she could, letting the sensation of the muscle over her most intimate part wash over her, and she bucked her hips. Regina looked up at Emma's face, contorted in pleasure and took the blonde's clit in her mouth. After a few flicks of her tongue, she felt the blonde tensing beneath her, her back arching over the bed, her mouth hanging open without a sound coming out of it, before she fell back down on the bed, seemingly spent from her orgasm.

Emma chuckled from the sensations she had just felt and brought Regina to her mouth. They kissed passionately, the blonde moaning at the tangy taste of her arousal on her lover's lips. Before Regina could even comprehend what was happening, Emma flipped them over and whispered seductively against her lips. "Ready for another round, doctor?"

o0o

After a lost number of orgasms, Emma rested her head against Regina's chest, burrowing as deep as she could in her arms, to seek comfort and love. The sex had been amazing, but the blonde felt really loved while held in the arms of her lover.

In their post-coital bliss, breaking the silence that had fell over them, Regina blurted a question. "Tell me a good memory you have about your youth."

Emma smiled. "My best memory is also the reason why my girl is named Heather. I was just about to turn 17 when I was placed in this home. I talked to you about bad choices? Well, I did plenty before and during my stay there. Well. The foster mother was from Scotland, and she was trying to put me back on the good track. At first, I didn't listen, but when I found out I was pregnant, I started to. She was telling me how to make good choices, and she pulled me out of trouble a lot of time. I've been lucky to have her, or I probably would have ended behind bars."

"Really?" Regina asked, incredulous.

Emma nodded. "Yeah. I used to steal stuff from stores. I was telling myself that it was because I never had anything for myself only, but these were excuses. I made bad choices, and had bad experiences, so Joyce, the mom, was a breath of fresh air. She kept me even if I did something wrong, and believe me, I did. I wanted to test her. But when I found out I was pregnant, well, she was my only support system. I was too far along for an abortion, and I couldn't send the child in the system like I had been. So, I made myself a promise. I would raise and love my baby like I've never been, and give it everything I never received."

Regina smiled sadly, as Emma went on.

"So, when I gave birth, Joyce was the only one present for me. She held my hand through the process, and they told me it was a little girl. I hadn't chosen names yet, but I looked at Joyce and remembered that she gave every child that came in her home a small pendant with a heather stalk, before telling us that, from where she came, in Scotland, they believed that white heather was lucky. I was so overwhelmed by joy and love at that moment that Heather received her name in her honor. Heather Joyce Swan, my own little lucky charm," Emma concluded her tale.

The silence filled the room for a few seconds, before Regina broke it, asking a question that spun in her head. "Do you still see her, Joyce, I mean?"

Emma nodded. "From time to time, when she isn't too busy with new kids, Heather and I go to see her. I owe her so much."

Regina was about to ask another question when her pager biped. With a groan, she turned towards the nightstand and took the small device to read the message.

Her lips pursued. "I… I am sorry. I'll try to be as fast as I can to come back to you, but I have an emergency with one of my patients," she explained to Emma, who was still on the bed, looking at Regina getting ready.

With a salacious smile, Emma slid the sheet away from her body and stretched, a compelling sight that Regina couldn't help but stare at. "Well, then," the blonde started. "I'll wait for you here," she went on, slowly guiding a hand towards her left breast, taking the nipple between her thumb and forefinger. "And try to distract myself," she finished with a pant.

The brunette groaned again. "I have to go and save lives. But," she said, slowly moving toward the bed, "this sight and idea are so much more compelling," she finished in a purr, leaning towards Emma to give her a kiss. "I'll be right back."

Emma nodded and let her head fall back to the pillow, as she watched Regina leave, with one last peck on her lips.

A few minutes went by, and the blonde was still lying in bed, deep in thoughts when she heard a rattling downstairs, like keys in the lock, and she smiled, believing Regina had forgotten something.

"Well, babe, that was fast!" Emma shouted, to be heard downstairs. She was only met with silence. Her eyebrows furrowed, and she knew she had to go investigate. Before she could even rose up to put something on, the door of the room opened, frightening her.

A man was standing in the doorframe, and Emma found that she couldn't move.

o0o

His eyes were wild, lost.

"They killed my wife! They killed my little girl!" he screamed, unhinged. "Now she'll pay. She'll see what it's like to lose someone you love!" he went on, ranting, as Emma gripped the sheets tightly in her hands to cover her body and scooted towards the headboard, inching away from the madman.

He kept on marching towards her, and when she could smell his breath on her face, he raised a knife in the air before letting it fall on Emma, the whoosh sound in the piece sounding louder than it should have been, followed by the squishy sound of flesh being opened. Emma took a breath, gasping, as the pain registered, and she felt it, radiating from the wound towards the rest of her body. The blood ran on her, hot, sticky when he took out the knife, to do it again, and she screamed. She lost count after four times, the world fading to black, her blood staining the sheets of the bed.

o0o

Addison went to knock on Regina's door, but her eyes widened when she saw it wasn't properly closed. It wasn't like her ex-wife notto be careful. She had a bad feeling.

Turning to Henry, she whispered. "Henry, my little prince. I need you to take the elevator again and go to the security office. Stay there until I come back for you, alright?"

He nodded but stayed frozen in place, eyes wide. His mother's tone was scaring him.

"GO!" she said, pressing him. He followed her demand, and ran to the elevator. Addison looked at him until he disappeared into the metal box. She rose from her crouched position and walked inside without a sound, trying to gauge if there was anything to be afraid of.

She went to the kitchen first, and then the living room, all empty. She exhaled. The redhead went on with her exploration. The study was untouched, just like both bathroom and Henry's room. Relief started to flood into her. There was only the master bedroom left to see.

When Addison pushed the door open, she gasped loudly. "EMMA!" she screamed, running to the bed. The blonde was slumped in a weird position, and blood was running from the corner of her lips.

"No! No, no, no!" she panicked. Then she saw the now-red sheets. The doctor turned Emma on her back. Her limbs were slack, and she had multiple stab wounds on the torso, easier to assert as the girl was naked under the sheets. Addison took out her cell phone and dialled 911, while checking her vitals. There was a pulse. Faint, but still, a pulse. She sighted, and tried to see what could have been touched. The heart seemed intact and Emma was still breathing, if a bit raspy.

The line was picked up on the other side, and Addison put it on speaker, compressing the deepest wounds.

"911, what's your emergency?"

"I have a girl who had been stabbed. She's lost a lot of blood, but there's still a pulse." she started.

"At which address are you?" the woman on the line asked.

Addison gave it without missing a beat.

"Alright, a paramedic team is on the way. Where are the wounds?"

The redhead screeched. "I am a fucking surgeon, I know what to do! I'm compressing the area where the blood is coming faster, and I used the sheets over the other wounds."

"Alright, Ma'am. What happened?"

"I was about to come give my son to his other mother for her week with him, but the door was open, so I told him to go to wait for me in the security office, and I went to check in-" she cut herself when Emma started to choke on her blood. "I need to move her, she's choking," she explained as she moved Emma to the side, in the recovery position, raising her head upward to free her airway. "How far are the paramedics? I really need to get her into surgery."

"Not far, Ma'am. They're almost there."

"Alright." she nodded, even if she couldn't be seen. "I really need to cover the wounds. I'll go get gauze in the next room."

"Ma'am!" the operator started to argue. "You need to keep the compression on the punctured site!"

Addison had already fled in the next room, and came back with a first aid kit. With rapid movements, she covered the wounds as best as she could.

"She has a pneumothorax in her right lung, and her liver has been touched. I can't see the extend of the damage, though."

"Alright."

Addison took a pen, which she unscrewed, to have only the plastic tub. "I'm using a pen inside the wound to drain the air," she said, while sticking the pen in the gash, as deep as she could, until she heard a small 'whoosh' sound, as the air drained from around the lung.

Addison exhaled. "It should have helped. Her lung can fill properly. I still need to assert if it had been touched by the knife before re-inflating it. She's still breathing though. Her left lung is working properly."

As she said that, she heard the door opening, and the woman on the line said "The paramedic will be there at any seconds."

Addison screamed. "In here!"

She heard wheeling sounds coming nearer, and she let a relieved sigh when she saw them. "She has multiple stab wounds, some superficial, but her lung collapsed, and her liver has been touched. You need to be careful while moving her. She choked on her blood."

The paramedics nodded, and moved Emma to the gurney.

"You need to transport us to Storybrooke General Hospital. I'm a surgeon there." Addison required. "I'll get her into surgery as soon as we're there."

"Fine." the man grunted.

As Emma was transported into the elevator and the door closed, the redhead took the stairs, and went to take Henry with her. "Sweetheart. Emma's sick, we need to get her to the hospital. Do you want to come with me in the ambulance?"

The little boy's eyes lit up. "Yeah! Can I sit in the front?" he asked, eagerly.

Addison nodded, and took him in her arms, running to the paramedical truck. "You need to sit still, alright?" she explained, buckling him up.

"Yes, Mama." was his answer. The paramedics opened the doors and rolled the stretcher inside. Addison went with the woman paramedic on the back, as the man took the wheel. The emergency sirens were lit up, and the ambulance made its way through the traffic.

Addison kept a close eye on Emma, but her state seemed to have stabilised a bit. The wounds were covered with more and more gauze as the blood kept pouring through them, and they were two pair of hands making pressure on the wounds.

After what seemed like hours, the ambulance finally stopped at the emergency entrance of the hospital and Emma was wheeled inside rapidly. Doctors were waiting at the door, and Addison was walking at the same pace the stretcher was rolled. She caught a sweet-looking nurse and asked her to take Henry to her office and stay with him before the redhead fired her instructions at a rapid pace in the trauma exam room.

"You!" she said, with a chin movement to the mousy-looking intern. "Go book an OR, NOW! And page Dr. Mills!" Addison boomed. "We have a perforation trauma. 23 years old female, no medical conditions known, multiple stab wounds in the abdomen. I don't know if the liver has been touched, and a lung collapsed. I had to relieve the pressure putting a pen in her chest cavity. We need more blood, she has lost too much."

Addison intubated her first, and kept moving towards the elevator to bring Emma to a free OR as fast as possible. She had tests to do first, and she knew she had to hurry for the blonde's sake. "Somebody page Dr. Moore or Dr. Gold. I need a CT with contrast to assert her condition. I think her liver has been lacerated."

A resident nodded and left the group with her interns following her. "Dr. Page, Dr. Booth you are with me on this." Addison added. "The others can go."

The group disbanded, and the two residents still moved the gurney, bringing it to the CT scan room.

Emma was still out cold, and Addison worried it was bad news. She waited for the scan to finish impatiently. While she did so, Mallory and Regina rushed into the small analysis room.

"You paged us 9-1-1?"

Addison gulped and nodded slowly, before pointing the other side of the window. Everyone in the room knew when Regina saw it. A piercing 'No!' resounded. Mallory had to grip the brunette in a tight hold in her harms to prevent her from going to the patient.

With a sob in her voice, Regina asked what had happened. The redhead tried to explain it as well as she could in the little time they had until the scan was finished.

When the image appeared, Addison studied it and let out a relieved sigh. "She only has a grade II level damage on her liver! She won't need a liver resection, even if there's a lot of fluid."

"I'll scrub in." Regina announced.

"No. You know you can't." Dr. Mallory Moore countered. "Never on a family member or a loved one." The brunette doctor growled at the statement. "You can only observe from the gallery."

As Mallory tried to make the other doctor see reason, Addison left the room with the residents and started to move Emma to bring her in the operation room. They needed to act fast, even if her liver was mostly alright. She had lost a lot of blood, and Addison wanted to assert if there were any other damages that she hadn't seen with the CT.

"Is the OR ready? We need to put her under as fast as we can," Addison fired away while wheeling the stretcher to the superior floor.

She received a definitive "Yes, OR 3 is booked for her," in answer.

"Good."

o0o

Regina was almost glued to the windows of the gallery, watching with rapt attention what was happening beneath her.

Addison hung two units of blood and immediately hooked them to Emma's body. It seemed to help the blonde's vitals, and as such, helped Regina breathe more easily.

Then, Mallory Moore stepped in, and checked over the girl's wounds, the improvised chest tube and the organs that could have been touched.

"She was really lucky. Four out of the seven wounds only affected the subcutaneous tissue. We'll only need to suture those," the blonde doctor continued her assessment. "The weapon did not touch the lung. You had a good reflex, Dr. Montgomery, with the improvised chest tube. We only have to take out the pen, sterilise and close that wound up."

Dr. Moore moved to the area where Addison had seen the tear in the liver. "This does not require any form of intervention except draining the fluid and keeping it under observation," she expertly announced, before finally looking into the seventh wound. "Oh," she said. The area was near the heart, and had been much more profound than the other ones. "We might have a bleeder here, there's too much blood!" she reinforced, "I need suction to see where it could come from!" Dr. Page took the sucker and started to do as her mother had asked.

With the view clearer, it didn't take long for Mallory to find the cause of it. "The weapon grazed the aorta. It made such a small nick that we could have overseen it," she explained. As she talked, she started on the minor reparation. At the same time, Addie was working on the improvised chest tube and the area. She wanted no complications because of a bacteria or anything.

o0o

Regina felt a few tears of relief falling from her eyes as Emma was closed up and prepped for post-op. Her beautiful lover was saved. They had done it, and without any complications. She would have to thank Mallory and Addie. Even more Addie as she was the one that had saved her lover.

When they moved her out of the operation room, Regina almost ran towards the room where she knew the blonde would be, and waited Emma's awakening.

o0o

Groggily, Emma opened her eyes and squinted her eyes to shy away from the bright light of the room.

A tired, whispering voice greeted her. "Welcome back, Darling."

She tried to turn her head towards the sound, but when she moved, everything blackened again.

o0o

When she woke up the second time, she felt a warm hand holding hers. She let herself be lulled in the peace and comfort of it, not opening her eyes immediately. When she did, slowly that time around, she saw brown hair just above her. It made her smile, a small smile.

She tried to speak, but her voice was hoarse. Her "Hi" was weak from the intubation and the drowsiness of the meds. Her eyes found warm brown ones when she felt water drops on her cheeks.

"Hey. Don't cry," Emma said, more easily this time.

Regina hiccupped and kissed her, making her giggle.

"Never, ever frighten me like that again!" Regina said, in an angry whisper. "Heather can't lose you. I can't lose you."

"R'gina," Emma rasped, "I'm tougher than a few stab wounds."

The brunette shook her head. "I was so afraid! What if Addie hadn't been there? Police officers are here to talk to you about what happened." Regina cleared her throat. "I can't go back to the penthouse and I can't stay away from you." She took a few seconds.

"Move in with me? We'll find a house we like for us both, and Heather, and Henry. It'll be our _home_."

Emma's eyes bored into Regina's, who was looking back so earnestly, with so much love that the blonde was overwhelmed. The silence went on and on, making the doctor bit her own lip, afraid about the answer.

Then, the blonde smiled. "I've always wanted a family. And I found it. So, yes. Yes, I want to find my _forever home_ with you."

* * *

 **The prompt was :**

 **"So what I had in mind was that Emma's kid (he or she) would be at daycare/kindergarten (the child is under 5) and Emma would be at work and her kid would need to go to the hospital, but nothing serious just like a sprained something, and Regina would be the doctor that took care of the kid. For that prompt I kind of went half meet-cute half them hating each other, like I thought Emma could arrive from her job looking kind of horrible and Regina would judge her and assume a lot of stuff and not being really shy about it, but Emma would just brush it off, and after Emma and her kid are gone she would learn that Emma's actually doing a really good job that makes her unhateable? Oh and please not snow and charming as her parents..."**

 **I hope you enjoyed! :)**


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